Contrast
by distantrealities
Summary: Blaine Anderson is a working photographer in Manhattan and when he gets the opportunity to photograph for CityMan, the leading men's fashion magazine he can't turn it down. But one arrogant model by the name of Kurt Hummel leaves him less than enthusiastic about the shoot. How will the two interact and will they keep their cool despite their major differences?
1. Chapter 1

When Blaine Anderson found out that he would be shooting the September issue of CityMan magazine he was over the moon. Blaine had absolutely fallen in LOVE with the magazine as a young high school student, fawning over the style and the men who wore it with such class. As a young gay student in Ohio, there wasn't a whole lot of available eye candy and it was his absolute dream to work for that magazine. Since then, he discovered that writing and styling are not exactly right for him but he found a new love in photography. From humble beginnings working as a clerk at the only photography shop in town back in Ohio, Blaine Anderson moved up the career ladder and now works at one of the top photography agencies in New York City. What started as only a hobby has become a profitable career and lifelong passion for Blaine.

He dreamed of coming to New York to break into showbiz, but his show choir days were left back in high school, he had a career doing something he never thought he would love and nothing could ever mess that up. Well, nothing until he found out exactly WHOM he would be photographing for CityMan. Of course it had to be breakout young model Kurt Hummel. Now if Blaine knew anything about Kurt Hummel, it was that he is nothing but another self-absorbed model with a flair for late nights and hookups. Kurt Hummel had been kicked out of many a nightclub, according to the tabloids and Internet gossip sites. Needless to say, Blaine was not interested in dealing with the so-called diva. But this job was too good, he couldn't afford to deny this opportunity, it could be his foot in the door for CityMan.

Kurt Hummel was not the relationship type. He wasn't the clean-cut type. He played by his own rules. The life as a model didn't have many rules. He was a single, good looking gay man who never felt that he wanted to be tied down. So he slept around and got a "bad" reputation for doing just that.

For most of high school, he was bullied and taunted just for being openly gay. He didn't want to hide who he truly was anymore. That being said, he got a late start on the whole gay dating scene, if that is what you would call it. Well, a lot of guys just wanted to sleep with him and just thought he was physically attractive. His first year out of school was spent fighting that objectification, but he soon realized that it felt good to have someone worship your body through touch and sex, and that being alone wasn't fun, so why not mess around while he was young? And things kind of snowballed from there. He had a "relationship" with a guy who was in the modeling business and he told him that he could get Kurt represented and start working in the industry. All of his life, Kurt pictured himself on the Broadway stage, singing and dancing his heart out 7 days a week, but fate had different ideas. He was working full time as a manager of a clothing store in Manhattan so he decided that anything would be better than that. So the last 3 years of his life have been dedicated to becoming one of the best up and coming male models in the country.

But Kurt was finally realizing that a life like his own isn't all fun and games. He truly wants friends and relationships to last. While he doesn't want to settle down, he wants some sort of real connection with a guy. But could he really commit and give himself to another man? He didn't really know, but he figured that it was worth a shot.

When Blaine Anderson accepted the job with CityMan he truly didn't know what he was getting himself in to. When he walked in the 30-story office of the magazine, he was overwhelmed by the posh nature of the building. Everything from the doorknobs to the desks seemed to be glittering and covered in gold. "I have an appointment with Mr. Preston." Blaine said to the receptionist whose hair was perfectly coiffed and highlighted to absolute perfection. Mr. Preston was the editor-in-chief of the magazine. " Please wait in the area to your left and someone will come for you when Mr. Preston is ready for you" the woman said with an air of superiority. Blaine walked over to the waiting area which was fully furnished with lavish white leather armchairs, a coffee table with the past 10 issues of CityMan, and a flat screen TV which shuffled through past photo spreads and behind the scenes footage of the making of the magazine. Blaine toyed with the blue striped fabric that stretched across his kneecap. If there was one thing that Blaine had trouble with, it was the fear of not making the right impression. He stared intently at the TV screen and gazed at the glamorous photo spreads that ranged from simple one-color backgrounds to complete shoots in the middle of a forest. But there was one image that burned in his mind. Kurt Hummel's intense gaze met Blaine's eyes and he was taken aback. Blaine never really bothered to pay attention to Kurt Hummel, he felt that he knew enough about him. But he found himself very attracted to the man. A sharp yelling from the other side of the room awoke him from his nearly hypnotized state and told him that Mr. Preston was ready to see him.

The receptionist walked Blaine back to his office and opened the heavy wooden door for him, and promptly walked away. "Please Mr. Anderson, have a seat," the tall, lanky man said with force. Blaine sat in the chair directly on the other side of the desk and looked with great interest at Mr. Preston. "Blaine, I asked to see you just to brief you on the process of this photo shoot. Here is a book that outlines the general clothing, accessories, as well as background of the shoot. If you have any questions please do not be afraid to direct them to the creative department, they should be able to help you. We are taking a huge gamble with putting you in this position, but we had no other options available. Your work on this shoot will influence your success in this field without a doubt." Blaine promptly agreed and the two conversed about the technicalities about the location, dates, hours, pay, etc. Blaine got up to leave at the end of the meeting and was interrupted by Mr. Preston. "Blaine, here is Kurt Hummel's card, I want you two to get acquainted before the start of the shoot. I have had too many incidents where the photographers refused to work with the models and vice versa, but I expect you won't have any issues, correct?" "Yes, of course, sir." Blaine replied with an obvious twinge of nervousness in his voice.

He couldn't help but picture having to sit and actually interact with Kurt Hummel, the cocky, arrogant, and destructive model, but he had no room to complain. His career was on the line. "Well good then," Mr. Preston replied, "I shall see the both of you in two weeks." "Thank you again Mr. Preston for this opportunity. I will prove to you I can pull this off" Blaine said with a confidence that he didn't even realize he had. "I'm sure you will Blaine, and please, call me Eric, Mr. Preston sounds like you are trying too hard," Preston said half jokingly. "Of course, sir, I mean Eric." Blaine muttered to his new boss. " I will see you soon."


	2. Chapter 2

It was a Wednesday afternoon when Kurt received a phone call from an unknown number. He had just woken up and was not at all prepared to deal with people, especially after the night he had, so he let the call go to voicemail. He showered up, had his coffee and painkillers to deal with the nasty headache he had woken up with and sat at his kitchen table. Sitting on the table was this morning's newspaper. Kurt didn't have to deal with much so he skipped right to the lifestyle section to read up on everything that was happening in the posh Manhattan society right now. Nothing caught his eye so he just sat there for a while and was thinking about life in general. It is so cliché but Kurt felt so unsure of everything that lied in front of him. What would happen to him after this career is over? Models have short life spans in terms of age and appeal. What if he never amounted to anything else? What if he wasted away like so many other socialites did? After Kurt had officially depressed himself, he decided to listen to the voicemail that was left on his phone. "Hello Kurt, my name is Blaine Anderson and I am photographing your shoot for CityMan in a few weeks. Eric Preston said that it would be a good idea for us to meet up and get to know each other before we actually do this thing, so let me know what is good for you. I have a few side jobs here and there but I am available most evenings if you want to grab dinner. Just call me back at this number and I look forward to hearing back from you." "Great" Kurt thought to himself. He hated all of these formal meetings with photographers and had to pretend to be interested in all of the details of their boring lives. Blaine Anderson sounded no different. He could tell in the way that he spoke that he was putting on his big professional photographer act and Kurt wasn't buying it. "You would think that people would just quit the fucking acts and actually live," Kurt said to the empty room surrounding him. "Well, Blaine Anderson, let's see what I can get out of you, how far you will push your limits."

Kurt re-dialed the number and waited for Blaine to pick up. "Hello, this is Blaine Anderson" the man said sternly. "Hi Blaine, this is Kurt Hummel I am returning your call from earlier today. It would be my pleasure to meet with you but as you know, my schedule is extremely packed." Kurt responded sarcastically. "Of course Kurt. Well you just let me know when you are free and I will be available as well." Kurt had enough of these pretend formalities. "Oh cut the crap Blaine. We both know that this pretend professionalism isn't going to work. If I remember your message correctly, it seems that you were almost hitting on me? Am I wrong?" Kurt replied, knowing exactly what he was getting Blaine into. "Oh…uh… of course not Kurt. I have no intentions…I mean… I just thought dinner would be a good idea," Blaine nervously spoke. "Calm down cowboy, I was kidding. Dinner at Deja View Saturday night okay, or do you have a hot date with some middle aged stockbroker. You sound like you're that kind of guy." "Saturday is perfect. And no I don't have a date. I like to think I'm more interesting than that, thank you very much. I will see you then, Kurt Hummel model and bad influence extraordinaire." "Great. Blaine Anderson, desperately single and worry wart ingénue. Saturday night." Kurt hung up the phone, fully satisfied with what he accomplished. "This is going to be quite the dinner date."

Blaine was fully exhausted after that chore of a phone call. Kurt Hummel was EXACTLY how he was pictured. A smartass, cocky asshole who had nothing better to do than mess with an obviously nervous and slightly insecure photographer that was about to have his big break. He was dreading this dinner and didn't want to deal with everything that Kurt was going to throw at him in the process. Blaine replayed the entire conversation in his head. It wasn't long before he realized that he was playing a little too coy with Kurt. He absolutely did not want to get involved with ANYONE right now, but especially not Kurt Hummel. He made a mental note to keep it cool during the dinner. He didn't want to give Kurt any reason to think he wanted to be friendly with him. Blaine Anderson wasn't the type to play games with his boyfriends. He had been hurt and tormented because of his sexuality, so he wasn't willing to deal with anyone who wanted to screw around with his feelings. He wasn't ready for anyone to come into his life, his future was uncertain enough as it was, he really didn't need a guy to come in and further complicate things. Yet Blaine was feeling lonely and unfulfilled. Sure, if he got a permanent position with CityMan, things would smooth over a bit, but there is a part of him that is longing for something that only love could fill. He's never really felt true love from anyone in his life, so he focused on building his career. "Kurt Hummel," Blaine said convincingly, "If you think you are going to stop me from making this photo shoot my breakout moment with your sarcasm and bad attitude, then you have another thing coming."


End file.
